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004-the-head-command.md

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The head command

The head command prints the first ten lines of a file.

Example:

head filename.txt

Syntax:

head [OPTION] [FILENAME]

Get a specific number of lines:

Use the -n option with a number (should be an integer) of lines to display.

Example:

head -n 10 foo.txt

This command will display the first ten lines of the file foo.txt.

Syntax:

head -n <number> foo.txt

Additional Flags and their Functionalities

Short Flag Long Flag Description
-c --bytes=[-]NUM Print the first NUM bytes of each file;
with the leading '-',
print all but the last NUM bytes of each file
-n --lines=[-]NUM Print the first NUM lines instead of the first 10;
with the leading '-',
print all but the last NUM lines of each file
-q --quiet, --silent Never print headers giving file names
-v --verbose Always print headers giving file names
-z --zero-terminated Line delimiter is NUL, not newline
--help Display this help and exit
--version Output version information and exit